San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-11-29
HUNTING IN AUGUST.

| 'Desire-Prosper Fondodu, So years old,
capitalist, residing at Levallois-Per form
erly an ironmonger in Paris, Rue du Eau
bourg- Poissoniere."
You are known for person Of previous
| good character; still that can in no manner
lessen the gravity of your double ofrense"
But am innocent, judge, innocent as o
lamb"
In saying this Mr.. Fondodu placed his left
hand over his heart and raised his right, as
| if willing to confirm under oath what he had
| said
You had better confess your guilt" con-
| tinued the judge. Come, now, will you &C
knowledge that, on the Goth Of August, you
were out hunting without permitf
Not at all, Judge; had taken out per-
init; here it is, and you may see for yourself
that it is dated Aug. 26 Consequently was
violating no law"
Then why did you refuse to show itf'
II did not refuse"
"Why did you insult the gendarme who
asked to see itF"
~ did not insult him."
what you deny the facti Crier, call the
first witness"
Corp. Briscard, q great, big fellow, with
curly mustaches, was called to the stand
After giving his name and surname and
stating his occupation, he testified as follows:
"At the time was making q little round
in the fields, when heard the report of gun
coming from the edge of the Fechut woods
started to go in that direction, when all at
once saw man in shirtsleeves come out Of
the copse and run away. II was the accused,
who undoubtedly saw me and tried to fee I
FASTENED after him, but this only made him
run the faster. Oil even If his legs are short
! assure you he knows how to use them. l
increased my speed and caught up with him
at last ordered him to stop and show me
his permit. Oh, yes! stop indeed He Just
kept on working his legs for all they were
worth. My permit! here it isl here it isl re-
piled he without turning; at the same tin
with all due respect to your honor say it,
made an insulting gesture and uttered
forcible expression which Cambronne
duced into French history"
you have heard the deposition Of the
witness, Fondodu. Do you still deny having
made the gesture and uttered the expressionT'
81 deny neither; but they were not intend
ed for the witness; it was to those confound-
edn-
Come, sir, have a care; one can easily see
that you are addicted to the use of low ex-
pressions. Now, what have you to say in
your own bebalfp'
~ shall speak nothing but the truth, your
honor; the truth, plain and unvarnished
The whole trouble was brought on by the
heat"
And, without needing the oft reiterated
injunction from the judge to cut it short,
the accused, with diffuse expressions and
endless details, gave the following account of
the affair:
Having made a fortune, he had retired to
the outskirts of the city, where he resided in
a cottage which had, among its other advan-
tages, a wee bit of garden. With no other
occupation than the care Of his tulips, gera-
NUNS and rose bushes, the former iron
monger began to grow stouter, much to the
annoyance of Nine. Fondodu. To overcome
this tendency to obesity, the worthy man had
become a sportsman. Three times week,
from the beginning Of September to the end
of November, he trudged about the fields of
Asnieres and Nanterre, shooting sparrows
and larks He was always on hand on the
opening day. This is why, followed by lad
bearing his game bag, he was on the Goth
day of August, in the wide plains of A,
mixed up with large number Of Parisians,
unskillful Nimrods, whose continual popping
filled the air with an Internal noise that
frightened the game without doing it the
least harm. Active and sprightly, Fondodu
moved about quite rapidly for a fat little
man, adding not a little to the warlike con-
cert. 1t must be said that his gun made more
noise than it did execution. Al the start he
had been lucky enough to kill brace of part
ridges, but since that ever to be remembered
double feat he had wasted sixteen cartridges
without seeing even so much as a feather
drop Many persons would have been ashamed
of such record. Not so with Fondodu, who
was not a slave to the weakness of vanity.
He was not even discouraged; tho only
thing that bothered him was that he felt
very warm. The overheated stubble
Scorched his limbs, and the sun, darling
down rays as hot as molten lead, made
his brain seem as if it was in a state Of ebulli-
ton. His head felt heavy, while a humming
noise sounded in his ears. He dreaded apo
plexy, that terror of adipose people Stop
ping short, be swallowed a mouthful Of rum,
took clean handkerchief from his game bag,
fixed it under his hat so as to shield the back
of his head and neck. Then, taking of his
hunting jacket and vest, he handed them to
the little attendant, saying:
Run back to the inn, which is only about
fifteen minutes walk from here Go to my
room and get me flannel vest and a dry
shirt Then tell the innkeeper to give you
meat pie, half Of a chicken, two bottles of
good wine, bread and coffee Come back and
meet me at the edge Of that clump of trees
which you see yonder. Ali by the by, ask
him if he has a camp stool. If he has bring
is along, too"
After giving these orders, while the boy
was on his way to the village, Fondodu rested
q while, mopped his face, famed himself,
and then started off very leisurely toward the
little coppice which he had selected as rest
ing place. During the day he had noticed
that when he flushed a covey Of partridges
they invariably few in that direction. His
project was to post himself there, to wait for
them and shoot as they passed. This he
thought he might do, not only without ia
tiguing himself, but even while enjoying a
certain degree of comfort.
When the boy returned, bringing back all
that had been ordered, the camp stool In
cluded, Fondodu went into a thicket and
changed his linen; after which, feeling much
refreshed and little rested, he calmly sat
down to take his breakfast. The hour was
well chosen, as a majority Of the hunters had
already left the grounds, some going back
to the village to satisfy the inner man, while
few had come, like himself, to take a bite
in the shade of the trees Of this little bosky
dell, which stood lonely oasis in that burn
ing Sahara
After eating and drinking to his hearts
content, the ex-ironmonger lighted his pipe,
and calmly waited until the other hunters
got through and went away to beat about the
fields. He then sought what he considered
the most favorable position on the outskirts
If the tvnOdS apd upfolJad HE carnn sfooi